


Stall

by climaxitis (orphan_account)



Category: Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu | Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-15 08:25:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5778454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/climaxitis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm glad you called."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stall

She's turning sixteen tomorrow, but she doesn't feel like she is. Not really. Her room feels solitary in the dark, and she's shut the curtains, so the moonlight can't offer any consolation. Wolf won't be coming back to celebrate with her and she tries not to let it show, but she's disappointed. Maybe it'll be better in the morning, but Evangeline doubts it, and, secretly, she doesn't really want to be proven wrong. If that sounds selfish, that's because it is.

The card ends up arriving a day late, but he calls her on the right date and it's unsurprising how quickly she changes her mind when he waves back at her through the video receiver. It's not quite the real thing, but it's nice to hear his voice again. The reception at the base makes him sound filtered and crackling, lightyears away like he is. When Wolf is home it becomes hard to remember he's more often absent than around.

She's grown out her hair a bit, but her height is far more stubborn. She stays a petite girl, with her small chin and plain face and a smile other people occasionally call warm, or gentle, instead of childish. Sometimes her aunt tells her she's growing fast and when Evangeline sizes herself up in the mirror, she wonders why that is. She isn't frustrated by this; just puzzled, genuinely. Adults make such a big deal about growing old.

She hasn't seen him in a while, but Wolf looks mostly the same. Certainly not any more twenty than she does sixteen, even if his uniform's different now. It's a strange relief, but then she suspects it could be the poor video feed screwing with her vision. Maybe, she speculates, he'll be different in person – bigger, or, perhaps, a little more grown-up in that particular way she can't put to words. It's not her fault if she doesn't understand. Wolf is her first and only older sibling, so she wouldn't be able to recognize it before it happens. Put this way, it sounds scarier than it is, so she tries pushing it out of mind.

Nevertheless, for now his laughter stays the same, and so does his smile. They come as easily to her, too, but Wolf's happiness has always been infectious, even when it's about things she doesn't necessarily understand. She doesn't place her hand against her mouth to stifle it, though she thinks about it.

There's a sudden lull in the conversation – bringing up the weather probably has to do with it, silly her – and Evangeline wonders with slight alarm if he's noticed something on her face. Instinctive, her left thumb smudges against her chin, but there's no frosting, no crumbs, and it's only when she blinks that he looks away, a gesture so obviously evasive she'd laugh if it didn't mirror her own.

She glances over her shoulder, and expects her uncle to be hovering behind her, impossibly enough, but it isn't the case. The living room's sullen quiet offers no consolation and she feels just as fluttery and odd as before when he looks back at him again.

"It's – getting late," she blurts out then, a convenient way out even though it isn't, really. By her side, her left hand rests, small fingers curling and uncurling before she brings them up and through her wavy hair, a mindless distraction. She's sixteen already but she thinks she might as well be six instead. Though it doesn't seem quite right to put it that way, she doesn't know how else to call the feeling.

"Yeah," he plays along, thankfully. The smile he's wearing suddenly looks a touch unfamiliar, and for a second she's unsure of what to make of it – but then his expression changes to surprise, then sheepishness, and her pondering ceases. "Ah, I can't believe I forgot to say it. I'm sorry I can't tell you in person, but happy birthday!"

Evangeline eases at that. A part of her urges to reply, _yeah, I missed you_ , but another seems hell-bent on convincing her she'll regret sounding so sour as soon as she's said it, and she agrees. So, a compromise: "It's such a shame you were away. Mom's cake was delicious!"

He laughs with her, all brotherly and fond, "Did you leave some for me?"

She shrugs, "I tried to, but Dad ate all of it."

"Well, my time's almost up," Wolf reminds her, before she can assured him a guaranteed portion first thing once he gets home or something as thoughtless. "I won't be back until next week, so."

"I know." She smiles because it's the mature thing to do, and it's understanding instead of forced. "Take care there."

"You too," he says. "Send my regards to Mom and Dad."

Outside, it has started to rain; a thin, light pitter-patter against the glass which will no doubt escalate later into the night. The momentary tension from before hasn't completely faded. There is the sense she ought to have replied with something other than a simple _okay_ , but by the time the thought reaches her mind the screen in front of her has gone blank.

"Okay," Evangeline tries again, despite herself. She swallows, pausing – hesitating – and then: "I'm glad you called," she murmurs to the dead transmitter, "and—" the shrill idle beep and the rain drown out her wisp of a voice and the rest of her sentence along with it.

The call ended a minute ago. No one had heard her speak, not even herself, and framed a certain way it might as well have been the case that she hadn't said anything at all. Even if she did, it doesn't matter what she meant by it. Whatever guilt or uneasiness that resulted is thus irrational. This is her conclusion.

The screen is gray and empty save for her reflection in it. She doesn't look disappointed, but it's not as if she expects any better. Looking over herself again, she decides her aunt really is wrong, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> this pairing's incest vibes aren't even that strong omg
> 
> also 3 separate wordcount counters give dif calculations so if there's smth wrong pls tell me


End file.
